Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting.
The talks, which included heavyweight Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, followed warnings by the United States, Iran and Israel that hostilities could restart in the eight-month war. The delegations met Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Officials from the three Mecca pact countries flew to Iran as part of efforts to “de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis”, a Saudi foreign ministry statement said. The meeting ended without concrete announcements, with the various parties saying they “agreed to continue discussions” according to Iranian state media.
A Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. US-Iran mediation efforts have been led by Qatar and Pakistan.
Responding to the weeks of attacks, Egypt’s parliament approved President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s request to approve defensive military support for Saudi Arabia “if requested”. US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington “may do another little Epic Fury”, referring to the US-Israeli campaign against Iran that began on February 28.
Regional tensions have risen ahead of Israel’s pivotal elections on Tuesday and next week’s US midterms, where US President Donald Trump’s Republicans are battling to keep control of both chambers of the US Congress.
As the talks in Tehran began, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it was “essential to stop any escalation” in the Middle East.
